by Mike Garafolo, USA TODAY Sports

by Mike Garafolo, USA TODAY Sports

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. â?? If you're into drama and frustrated players venting, check this out because this is as dramatic and frustrated as Tim Tebow may ever get publicly.

"You know, sometimes things just happen out of your control," the New York Jets' backup quarterback told reporters Wednesday, one day after Rex Ryan benched Mark Sanchez and named Greg McElroy the starter. "Obviously, you might not be pleased with them or happy about it. You just handle them the best you can."

Tebow added, "Every opportunity you get, you want to make the most of. I would've loved to have more of an opportunity to just play quarterback. Obviously, that's my goal. Just make the most of these last two weeks and see what happens after that."

Tebow was clearly agitated by the decision to start McElroy. After all, he had been the No. 2 quarterback for most of the season, though it now seems that was only so he could be in uniform to run the Wildcat plays and serve as the personal punt protector while McElroy was inactive. Now, it appears he was always the third-string quarterback in Ryan's mind â?? or at least dropped to that depth at some point, perhaps after McElroy led a comeback victory over the Arizona Cardinals.

Tebow believes he can be an NFL starting quarterback, so he'll likely soon try to get that chance. But he said he hasn't asked for a trade.

At least not yet.

"That's something we'll talk about after the season," he said repeatedly.

Translation: He's out of here, though that might wind up being more of the Jets' decision than his. After all, it's baffling why they even wanted him in the first place.

"Some things are hard to understand," Tebow said when asked if he understands the Jets' reasoning for trading for him. "They were trying to do the best they can and I understand that."

Oh, by the way, the other storyline on Wednesday was Sanchez's future being very much clouded by the current situation. He is no longer the "Sanchise" quarterback for this team, a player they traded two picks and three players to draft with the fifth overall pick in 2009. He is now the guy running the scout team for the first time in as long as he could remember.

Sanchez said he was told immediately following Monday's loss to the Tennessee Titans he would be benched, though he wasn't sure for whom. Ryan decided Tuesday it would be McElroy.

Sanchez believes he'll still get a chance to be the Jets' quarterback at some point.

"Oh sure, absolutely, and you've got to feel that way and be confident as a quarterback, no matter how many interceptions or touchdowns you've thrown," said Sanchez, who has thrown 17 interceptions to only 13 touchdowns this season. "You just have to be ready to come back strong."

The one guy that has to be ready on Sunday against the San Diego Chargers is McElroy, who claims he's indeed prepared for the challenge.

"I think I'm ready. This is a tremendous opportunity, this is a tremendous moment for me," said McElroy, who went 5-for-7 and threw the game-winning touchdown against the Arizona Cardinals earlier this month in relief of Sanchez. "I can't emphasize enough this is not a finish line; this is a starting point. You work hard enough to get here, you set a goal for yourself and then, as soon as you accomplish that goal, you'd better restructure because you want to continue to excel, continue to improve."

McElroy is happy to have a full complement of reps this time around.

You know, the kind of situation Tebow wishes he'd had.

"Just enjoy right now, live in the moment," McElroy said. "That's what my dad said when I talked to him: 'Live in the moment and enjoy this. You've been dreaming about this your whole life.' My whole life, man. I can think back, wearing a Troy Aikman jersey growing up and pretending I was in these shoes. I'm very, very grateful and excited about this opportunity."